Epilogue.

The sun dips low behind the forest, and a chill rides the wind as dark gray clouds gather over Black Hollow. The air smells of rain, of wet earth, of something unsettled. The sun is gone now - as if agreeing that the happier days are over, fading into the gray mist that Black Hollow knows all too well. Even the pack pauses, sensing the shift, tails flicking, ears pricked.

Hope stands at the edge of the river, the waterfall’s mist curling around her like a silver veil. Malakar’s beside her, nuzzling her shoulder, but even his presence doesn’t fully ease the creeping unease in her chest. She shakes it off, blaming the wind, the shadows among the trees. She doesn't want to believe that something is out there. Another threat to their safety, their happiness - the peace that they fought so hard for. She doesn't want to believe that it's all over. She wants to ignore it - wants to go on living the life that she has worked so hard for. The life that she has always wanted. The life she deserv